Pros: Fun to drive with great steering; potent power and torque; usable electric range; beautiful design
Cons: Cramped back seat and tiny cargo area; some chintzy interior bits; other PHEVs are more efficient
While there loads of decisions inside the small luxury SUV segment, there are some niches which have not been well-explored. The 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale manages to suit two of them. It’s certainly one of the few plug-in hybrids, while also catering to those that like to drive (and look good doing it). Nothing else manages that one-two-three punch of delivering fuel economy, fun and magnificence.
By way of size, the Tonale is on the smallest end of the luxurious SUV world, joining the Audi Q3, BMW X1, Mercedes GLA-Class and Volvo XC40, but offers substantially more power together with the unique characteristic (for the segment) of electrical driving range, all for only a couple thousand greater than the bottom models of those options. There are a pair larger and more efficient plug-in hybrid options from Lincoln and Lexus, but they don’t seem to be nearly as engaging to drive. The sporty Mini Countryman plug-in hybrid, meanwhile, isn’t quite a luxury model. As such, the Alfa is a novel offering well price your attention.
Interior & Technology | Passenger & Cargo Space | Performance & Fuel Economy
What it’s prefer to drive | Pricing & Trim Levels | Crash Rankings & Safety Features
What’s latest for 2024?
The Alfa Romeo Tonale is a totally latest model for 2024.
What are the Tonale interior and in-car technology like?
The Tonale’s interior design is clearly within the vein of the Stelvio and Giulia. The dash is curvy with big round air vents and a double-barrel instrument cowl. It has sporty details just like the starter button on the dash, and when optioned, beautiful and satisfying aluminum shift paddles that would not be misplaced in a Ferrari or Lamborghini. We love the pops of color provided by the exterior-matching dash panel within the Ti and Veloce, and even higher, by the optional configurable multi-color panel that may replace it. A few of the materials across the cabin appear and feel too budget-oriented for a luxury vehicle, but on the entire, it is a solid cabin.
Fortunately, the Tonale doesn’t take its infotainment inspiration from the Stelvio and Giulia. As an alternative it gets a Uconnect system like its twin, the Dodge Hornet, in addition to other newer Chrysler vehicles. It’s displayed on a ten.25-inch screen that is crisp and responsive, and the system leans heavily on easily tapped icons in addition to the power to customize the system along with your preferred apps. It also supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in addition to a wireless phone charger. Supporting the infotainment system is a big 12.3-inch instrument display.
How big is the Tonale?
The Tonale’s exterior dimensions straddle the road between compact and subcompact crossovers. As an example, it slides right between two of the opposite few plug-in hybrid premium crossovers, the Mini Cooper SE Countryman and the Lincoln Corsair PHEV, with reference to length and width. It is also very close in size to gas-only options equivalent to the BMW X1 and Audi Q3.
Inside, nonetheless, the Tonale is pure subcompact and even then, not a really big one. There’s a snug amount of head and legroom up front, though the texture is a bit narrow. The back seat is kind of simply cramped – longer-legged drivers won’t leave much room for those in back, and also you’ll struggle to suit a rear-facing child seat inside without moving the front passenger seat as much as a near-useless position. Kids in front-facing child seats are also certain to be kicking the seat
We’ve not had the prospect to perform our usual cargo area luggage test on the Tonale, but its Hornet R/T plug-in hybrid twin has the very same 22.9-cubic-foot cargo number behind the back seat. Briefly, it performed poorly, even by subcompact SUV standards. We’ve little reason to imagine the Tonale would do any higher.
What are the Tonale fuel economy and performance specs?
Just one powertrain is accessible on the Alfa Romeo Tonale. It is a plug-in hybrid that mixes a turbocharged 1.3-liter four-cylinder and six-speed automatic transmission on the front with an electrical motor on the rear. Combined output between the 2 sources is 285 horsepower and 347 pound-feet of torque. The rear electric motor is nice for 121 horsepower by itself, which is essential to take into accout, considering that in all-electric mode, it would be handling all of the propulsion. Though after all, if the pedal is depressed far enough, the engine will routinely kick in, even in full electric mode.
A 15.5-kWh battery pack supplies electric power, and it may provide 33 miles of all-electric range. When the gas engine kicks in, EPA-estimated fuel economy is 29 mpg in combined driving. This implies it’s less efficient than the Lexus NX 450h+ (37 miles of range, 36 mpg combined) and Lincoln Corsair PHEV (33 miles of range, 33 mpg combined). It’s effectively higher than the Mini Countryman PHEV (18 miles, 29 mpg combined), not to say all of the gas-only luxury SUVs that may’t hum along on electricity alone.
What is the Tonale prefer to drive?
The Tonale is an impressively fun small crossover, delivering on the sportiness you’d expect from Alfa Romeo. The steering is very accurate and well-weighted, and the chassis feels wanting to corner, even with barely soft suspension tuning that leads to some moderate body roll. This is usually the case whether you go together with the usual, fixed suspension, or the electronically adjustable optional shocks. The counter argument for that softer tuning is the resulting compliant ride provided by each suspension options.
With 285 horsepower and 347 pound-feet of torque, the Tonale feels quite sprightly off the road, and the electrical motor makes the throttle response very smooth and quick. Plus, it’s certainly one of the more refined engines we have experienced in a plug-in hybrid. Unfortunately, the early shove eventually gives option to an absence of oomph on the upper end of the rev range. Blame the the Alfa’s notable weight at just over 4,000 kilos combined with the natural characteristics of a small engine with a small turbo and an electrical motor. The six-speed automatic shifts easily, but its responses are lacking. That makes using the shift paddles a must when driving enthusiastically, but the good news is that you just’ll be on the lookout for excuses to finger Alfa’s beautiful blades of aluminum that sprout from the steering column. They’re optional, but Alfa should really let all its customers enjoy their coolness.
As for full-electric driving, the 121-horsepower electric motor feels plenty usable around town, and it would get the Tonale to highway speeds and maintain them. Naturally, it does feel a bit pokey as speeds top around 40-50 mph. You may also must be careful along with your right foot to maintain it in full electric mode, as there is no form of detent to let that you’ve got reached the limit of the electrical acceleration and are about to kick on the engine.
What other Alfa Romeo Tonale reviews can I read?
2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale First Drive: An electrifying Italian alternative
Our first drive behind the wheel of the Alfa Romeo Tonale within the Italian countryside.
What’s the 2024 Tonale price?
There are three trims available for the Tonale, starting out with the Sprint. It has a base price of $45,440, including the $1,595 destination charge. It’s adorned with black exterior trim, 18-inch alloy wheels and full LED lighting, including fog lights, on the skin. Inside, it comes with cloth upholstery, power-adjustable heated front seats, a leather-wrapped heated steering wheel, dual-zone climate control and a wireless phone charger. The instrument cluster is a 12.3-inch display, and the infotainment uses a ten.25-inch display. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard together with navigation and a six-speaker sound system.
And a fast note for the Ti: the value includes the most cost effective $500 optional paint color. No-charge paint colours on this model require the number of a further option package that will make it costlier. Mainly, you could have no alternative but to pay for paint.
All prices below include the $1,595 destination charge. The Tonale isn’t eligible for any federal tax credits when buying, because it is inbuilt Italy.
- Sprint: $45,440
- Ti: $47,935
- Veloce: $50,435
As for what you get with the 2 other trims, it mostly comes all the way down to standard equipment, and in some cases different styling. The Ti adds different 18-inch wheels in addition to silver-painted grille, bumper and side sill trim. Inside it gets body-color matched dash trim and a hands-free power hatch. It also gains access to options not available on the Sprint. The Premium Interior and Sound Package adds a memory function to the ability driver seat, a Harman Kardon sound system, and perforated leather seats with ventilation. The latter two features can be found on their very own within the Premium Interior Package, too. Then there’s the High Performance Driving Package that adds the superb aluminum shift paddles, aluminum pedals and red-painted brake calipers. Larger wheels and a sunroof are also available as standalone options.
Moving as much as the Veloce retains the black trim, but adds Veloce badging on the fenders, 19-inch wheels and dual-exit exhaust. It also comes with Alcantara-trimmed seats as standard and the aluminum paddles and pedals from the Ti’s High Performance Driving Package. But the largest add-on is within the suspension and brakes. It gets electronically adjustable shocks, as an alternative of the fixed versions on the Sprint and Ti. It also gets Brembo four-piston brake calipers up front, and so they’re painted red. And except for the aforementioned High Performance Driving Package, it has the identical options because the Ti.
What are the Tonale safety rankings and driver assistance features?
The Tonale comes standard with forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot and rear cross-traffic warning, lane-keeping assist, driver inattention warning, adaptive cruise control and front and rear parking sensors. The Energetic Assist package adds a surround-view parking camera system, lane-centering for adaptive cruise control, auto-dimming exterior mirrors and extra parking assist including side detection.
The Tonale had not been crash tested by a 3rd party on the time of this writing.
This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
